After nearly six hours of deliberation during the ASUO Senate meeting on Wednesday night, the body approved the proposed 2014-2015 budgets from the Departments Finance Committee, Program Finance Committee, Athletics Contracts and Finance Committee and the EMU Board. The budgets were approved and came under the proposed 3.5 percent cap from the ASUO Executive and University of Oregon Administration.
The ACFC’s budget was approved at $4,409,385. The primary concern from Senate about the ACFC’s budget was that the committee decided to defund the United States Student Association, due to them not turning in their budget proposal by the deadline.
“It was my opinion not to hear them because they turned in their budget late,” Senator Josh Losner said. “As a committee member of the ACFC and an elected official, I have to hold people to a higher standard, and that’s why I decided to not vote for them.”
The majority of Senate wanted USSA to receive some sort of funding, seeing as if they received none from the ACFC, the organization wouldn’t be able to function. ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz proposed to take $3,000 from the executive’s conference travel line item and to transfer it to the USSA.
“I have never been a big advocate for advocacy organizations,” Dotters-Katz said. “But this is an organization that went from asking for $25,000 to $10,000 and are now just looking for enough to stay relevant.”
ACFC’s budget was approved with an amendment to fund USSA with the $3,000.
The PFC’s budget proposal was a 1.4 percent increase to a total of $2,411,273. The committee’s budget passed, but during the meeting Dotters-Katz suggested to cut $6,000 from the Sexual Assault Prevention Task Force, of which $3,000 would go to fund the DFC’s Mill Center’s nine percent increase, and then the remaining $3,000 would go to the PFC to give increases to some programs. During the hearings, no programs were given increases in the PFC, except for those stipend related expenses.
The PFC decided to allocate $950 to the Blood Drive foundation, $296 to Climate Justice League, $200 to Geological Club, $50 to Rhythm-O, $200 to the Black Heritage Fashion Show and $154 to the Latin Law Student Association.
After the PFC’s cut from the Sexual Prevention Task Force to help pay for the increases to the Mills Center, the DFC was able to have its budget approved with no changes. The DFC was approved with a 3.84 percent increase at $1,040,913. The EMU Board’s budget was also approved quickly with a 4.41 percent increase.